Shaun Murphy narrowly missed out on a second world title after dropping the World Snooker Championship closing 18-17 to Wu Yize at The Crucible.
Shaun Murphy misplaced a closing body decider to Wu Yize on the World Snooker Championship (Picture: Getty)
Monday’s dramatic World Snooker Championship closing noticed Shaun Murphy dealt a painful double blow. Not solely did the 2005 champion narrowly fall wanting claiming a second world title however he now faces a substantial monetary setback which is able to eat into his earnings.
The Englishman will lose a sizeable portion of his six-figure prize to the taxman following his 18-17 defeat to Wu Yize at The Crucible. The identical UK tax legal guidelines have additionally affected Chinese language teenager Wu, who claimed his first world title at simply 22. Within the 21 years since Essex-born Murphy lifted his personal world crown, the prize fund for the World Championship has greater than doubled. Almost £2.4million was shared between the sphere in 2026, greater than double the 2005 whole.
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Wu, who moved to Sheffield as an adolescent, is predicted to retain simply 53 per cent (£265,000) of his £500,000 winner’s cheque after tax and Nationwide Insurance coverage deductions. Utilizing the identical calculations, Murphy stands to retain simply £106,000 of the £200,000 runner-up prize.
Murphy had seen off two former world champions en path to the ultimate. He defeated 2025 winner Zhao Xintong within the quarter-finals earlier than overcoming four-time champion John Higgins within the semis, solely to return unstuck in opposition to Wu. The 43-year-old was magnanimous in defeat.
“I might prefer to be the primary to congratulate Wu Yize and his household, and everybody round him for being an exquisite world champion,” Murphy mentioned. “I hate being proper – I mentioned someday earlier within the season after we had an amazing sport out in China someplace, I received that one however I got here out afterwards and mentioned that he can be world champion sooner or later.
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Wu turned world champion for the primary time in his profession (Picture: Getty)
“It is only a actual disgrace that it was as we speak, however I could not have given it any extra, I could not have tried more durable.”
Wu continued to climb the world rankings after his win and now sits at a career-high fourth. It was solely his second rating occasion closing triumph, following his victory within the Worldwide Championship in November 2025.
“My dad and mom are the true champions,” the Lanzhou-born star mentioned after his success in Sheffield. “Since I made the choice to drop out of college, my dad has been by my aspect. My mum has additionally been going by way of rather a lot through the years. They’re the supply of my energy, I like them a lot.”
He indicated heavy celebrations have been the very last thing on his thoughts after the win, including: “I simply wish to have a very good sleep. I’ve been feeling nerves on a regular basis since earlier than the match, so now I simply wish to go to mattress.”
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